Violence Erupts In Lebanon

Is this “sectarian” violence being sourced by Western interests just like it has been in Syria? Is yet another “Arab Spring” being engineered in order to destabilize the region and usher in Al-Qaeda run insurgencies funded by the U.S. and the EU? And, if so, what is the ultimate goal of this strategy? To create an open door for massive NATO intervention and perhaps all out war? The powder keg building within the Middle East is now more explosive than at any time in modern history, and its negative implications are vast…

At least seven people were killed and dozens wounded in gunbattles in the Lebanese capital Beirut and coastal Tripoli on Monday in further unrest linked to the conflict in neighboring Syria, security and hospital sources said.

The clashes have heightened fears that Syria’s civil war with its sectarian dimensions is now spreading into Lebanon, pitting local allies and opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against each other.

The Lebanese army promised decisive action to quell the violence, which was touched off by the assassination of a senior intelligence officer last week.

That killing has plunged Lebanon into a political crisis and the army command urged party leaders to be cautious in their public statements so as not to inflame passions further.

It issued the warning after troops and gunmen exchanged fire in Beirut’s southern suburbs overnight and on Monday morning while protesters blocked roads with burning tires.